Masquerade
by Peaches Sparklepants
Summary: Oneshot. Reaver has finally returned from Samarkand, and he is hosting a masquerade ball to celebrate his return. And guess what? Queen Sparrow is invited to it.
Sparrow sat on the throne, bored. Nothing interesting had happened today, except for a visit from Reaver. She had despised him from the very day she had met him. But then again, he had helped her save Albion from Lucien thirty years ago so she had some tolerance for his presence. After all these years she expected him to change in personality even just a little, but no, he hadn't changed a bit. Just a few months ago he had returned from Samarkand and since it was mostly desert, one would have expected him to tan, but he stayed just as pale as ever. Perhaps he had somehow gotten even paler. The reason for his visit was to announce that he had constructed a manor in Millfields and he was going to host a masquerade ball to celebrate his return to Albion, and Sparrow was invited. Personally she had no interest in _anything_ Reaver was up to, because it couldn't be good. But she thought that she might as well attend in order to be respectful as she was the queen and all. If she remembered correctly the party began at midnight, so she still had plenty of time to get ready. She rose from the throne and made her way to her bedroom, only to be stopped by her son. "Mummy, when is daddy coming home?"

"I don't know. It's late. You need to go bed."

"But you said I could wait for daddy!"

"Go to bed, Logan."

"Fine…" Logan sulked off to his room. Sparrow went to her chambers and sat down on her bed. If she remembered correctly, she was supposed to wear a mask to the party (of course, since it was a masquerade party). Thankfully she had one in her closet. She changed into a frilly purple dress and put on the mask, which was purple as well and resembled the face of a fox. After that the put her hair in a tight bun. She looked pretty good! She just hoped Reaver wouldn't recognize her. She looked at the clock in the room. It was an hour before the party started. After she made sure Logan was in bed, she made her way out of the castle and went toward Millfields alone. She did not bring her weapons with her, as they would give her away. Also, before she left, she made sure Logan's nanny showed up to keep watch over her 10 year old son.

When she got there, the first thing she looked at was the lake. The entry to the tomb in the center of the lake had been replaced by a white gazebo. She missed that old tomb. Hero Hill also had a large part of it removed at the top, which meant that the cullis gate was gone. What was once wilderness was covered in houses. The only sign that it was the same place at all was the lake. It was easy to tell which house belonged to Reaver because the large pink one at the end had a marble statue of him in front of it. She went over there and knocked on the door. She could hear talking from inside the building. Minutes later one of the large doors opened, and behind it was a small red-haired man in a butler outfit. "Ah welcome! Come on inside! Mastah Weavah's 'bout to kick off the party!" Sparrow stepped inside and looked around. The inside was very different than the outside. For one, it was mostly red and black instead of pink. It was very dark in there, just like his previous home in Bloodstone. Even though the party hadn't started yet, many people were already drunk and trashing the house. The doors at the top of the stairs opened, and Reaver stepped through them. Sparrow knew it was him even though he was wearing a mask because she could see the nearly paste-white skin, and his dark eyes through the mask's eye holes. He scanned the crowd, his gaze stopping on Sparrow for a few seconds. He went down the stairs, the heels of his boots clicking on each step. The few in the room who were still sober crowded around him. Sparrow made sure to stay in the back of the crowd. Reaver raised his arms. "Let the party begin!"

Sparrow broke away from the crowd and began to wander the mansion. So far it looked very… posh. She passed a mirror on a wall and looked at her reflection. She looked exactly the same as she did on that day when she had allowed someone else's youth to be sacrificed and given to Reaver. She still appeared young and vigorous, and she hated herself for it. She was startled by a loud crash followed by the shouts of the other guests. Apparently somebody had somehow managed to knock over and break one of Reaver's statues.

As she went through the house, she noticed that there were many portraits of himself hanging on the walls. "How can I concentrate when there's paintings of him everywhere?! It feels like he's watching me wherever I go in here..."

She went back into the parlor and looked at the other guests. They were now doing a dance that involved constantly switching partners. She was bored so she decided to join in. It actually turned about to be quite fun until she landed in a certain man's arms. She pushed Reaver away and started to walk off. As she did so, Reaver slapped her on the bum. "Oi", she yelled turning around. "Keep your hands to yourself!" He laughed as she walked into the next room and collapsed on a nearby sofa. She didn't expect that night to be that stressful.

She closed her eyes. She just hoped that the party would be over soon. She didn't know how long she sat there for. Her eyes flew open when she heard a familiar voice. "Hello there my dear. Don't you look nice." Reaver was standing in front of her. "Leave me alone Reaver." Reaver sat down next to her. "Fancy seeing you here. I didn't think you would come."

"Well I did. Now go away."

"Why would I do that? The party's just begun."

"I said leave me alone!" She held up her hand and a fireball appeared in it.

"Oh I'm shaking in my black custom-made leather boots!" Sparrow sighed and the fireball disappeared. "Quite a party you have going on."

"Indeed it is. You know, we could go to my chambers and have a party of our own."

"REAVER!" She tried to slap him but he grabbed her arm. She tried to pull away but his firm grip held her in place. "Let me go!" There was no denying that Reaver was a very handsome man, but Sparrow knew too well that looks could be deceiving. Reaver's dark and greedy nature was the main reason why she disliked him so much.

She finally managed to get out of his grip. She got up and stormed off, grumbling trying to get as far away from him as possible. She went into the kitchen and decided to get some brandy. As she drank, she looked at the guests in the parlor and had to stop herself from laughing. They were all drunk by now and were trying to play charades, but kept falling over and/or vomiting. She looked at the front door for a moment and thought about leaving, but she was curious about the rest of the party would go, and indeed the party had just begun, so she at least ought to enjoy herself.

Sparrow began to wander the mansion yet again, and found a room she had not yet entered. She opened the doors and stepped inside. The room was small and circular, and had several doors in it. She looked around and her eyes fell on a certain object the room, and it wasn't one of the many Reaver statues in there. It was the Wheel of Misfortune. THE WHEEL OF MISFORTUNE. Why on Earth was it there of all places?! She thought that she would never see that damn accursed wheel again! It had been modified so that the circular images around the edges showed not sacrificial fates, but images of different creatures that lived around Albion. "Do you like my new toy", Reaver said from behind her. Sparrow turned around to face him. "How can you keep something like THIS in your own house?! Do you have any idea of how dangerous this thing is?!"

"That happens to be the exact reason why I have it here~."

"Just exactly HOW did you get your hands on it anyway?" He didn't answer, but he shoved her against the wall, grabbing her shoulders. She drew her sword and struck him hard with it. He was knocked backwards only a few steps, seemingly unharmed. However, he was knocked back far enough for her to break free of his grasp. "I'm not one of your prostitutes Reaver you're NOT going to bed me. Just stop it and leave me alone already you whore." she said with a low growl.

He put a hand to his chest, pretending to be hurt. "My my… such devastating words."

Sparrow rolled her eyes. That was it. She wasn't staying if she was going to have to keep dealing with well... _that._ She turned around and briskly made her way out of the room, heading towards the house's exit.

As she left the room, she heard Reaver speaking. "That's right flee my little bird. You'll come flying back to me eventually."

"Shut it, Reaver."


End file.
